Andrew Holness
OPPOSITION Leader Andrew Holness has called on the Police High Command to start setting up sting operations to apprehend parents and other adults who groom children to participate in sexual acts for financial gain.
He said Tuesday that he was concerned that the law against grooming, which seeks to prevent the preparation of the minds of youngsters to participate in illegal activities and to prevent the perversion of the country’s youth, was not being adequately used.
“I don’t see this law being used enough in Jamaica and I think that the Government, by policy, should direct the police to set up sting operations and to start to prosecute parents who are found guilty of this,” said Holness.
He made the call after participating in the Read Across Jamaica initiative at the New Hope Basic School in Olympic Gardens in Kingston.
According to Holness, with attacks against the nation’s children on the rise, it was time to implement measures that would send a strong message, especially against people who seek to take advantage of the vulnerable.
He also made a strong call for more to be done to reduce the unemployment rate, as he felt this was contributing significantly to the nation’s crime problem.
Holness claimed that the high level of unemployment, especially among the youth, was not being given attention by the Government, which he felt was more focused on passing the IMF test.
“We hear the People’s National Party talking about passing the IMF test; they are going to pass the IMF test at the expense of failing the country,” Holness said.